The Cleverly Newsletter has been published in hard copy since September 1973 and online since October 2008.

Currently posted the first day of each month by Ivard and Dorothy's seventh son, Dean B Cleverly. Comments, suggestions, contributions welcomed at dcleverly@gmail.com.

Monday, October 19, 2009

2 Quote of the week

When I was first called as a General Authority nearly 50 years ago, we lived on a very small plot of ground in Utah Valley that we called our farm. We had a cow and a horse and chickens and lots of children.

One Saturday, I was to drive to the airport for a flight to a stake conference in California. But the cow was expecting a calf and in trouble. The calf was born, but the cow could not get up. We called the veterinarian, who soon came. He said the cow had swallowed a wire and would not live through the day.

I copied the telephone number of the animal by-products company so my wife could call them to come and get the cow as soon as she died.

Before I left, we had our family prayer. Our little boy said our prayer. After he had asked Heavenly Father to "bless Daddy in his travels and bless us all," he then started an earnest plea. He said, "Heavenly Father, please bless Bossy cow so that she will get to be all right."

In California, I told of the incident and said, "He must learn that we do not get everything we pray for just that easily."

There was a lesson to be learned, but it was I who learned it, not my son. When I returned Sunday night, Bossy had "got to be all right."

This process is not reserved for the prophets alone. The gift of the Holy Ghost operates equally with men, women, and even little children. It is within this wondrous gift and power that the spiritual remedy to any problem can be found.

— President Boyd K. Packer, in the October 2009 general conference

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